The Republican journal., 1887-07-14
La DANA Mexicana.

ONE EXPERIENCE SUFFICIENT FOR LIFE
TIME. HOW THE MENICAN DANCE AFFECT
ED A DtiNIFIED NEW YORKER. BALES DE
COMPADHES.
Correspondence of the JO,lrnalI
CITY OF MEXICO, June 1887. Congratulate
mc-for in the words Of the immortal Web
stcr, 81 still live" even after having partici-
| patcd in n Mexican d0n-Ht For an unmarried
lady of social standing to attcndh public ball
of this description, though escorted by her
father or brothers, is considered rather dar-
ing thing to do-yct last nights crowd attcsted
that many do attend them. Tn the innocence
of my heart, actuate,l by pure journalistic fer
vor in pursuit of information, accepted the
invialion-and now quite agree with that
American who remarked, "a man may donzo
lin the innocence of his hcart'-jj,,st once''
You ask, 'What is La DanZay' 1t is some
thing impossible TO define in cold black and
white, to be read at long range amid prosaic
| surroundings; it could not occur anywhere
| but among these poctical passionate races of
| the tropics, and cannot even be understood bv
one of northern birtl-unless he has lived
here long enough to get something of the
climate into his blood.
word--nO more harm in it. to merely look at
| than in Il champagne glass, or in the unloaled
| pistol which
| "GOES OFF AT SOME UNWAHl MOMENT
and maybe murders yonr grandmother. The
| music is siow-So very slow that Il northern
belle would re-belle at once; and the quiet step
is simply the bd/cMce=. Of the dancing masters
quadrlIe, with the important addition that this
is a Ground dance
With this lazy step YOU move backward and
| forward or gently turn around whenever the
crowd gives you room, until you come face to
face with another couple as sleepy as your
selves. with whom you execute that stupid
| right hand across to cross over and back
exactly as in our pinafore an,l-pantalette days.
| Then the gentleman's arm encircles his part
ner'> waist, she leans on his shoulder and gives
her right hand to his left, and in this little
qlIadr.c they b"iemrr: until it is time to re-
sumo the tete-a-tctc. This is all there is of it
and what could possibly appear more inno-
| cent!
But appearances are sometimes lcccitful,
and the danza depends altogether upon who
dances it. Certainly ''thc racquet in north
crn ballroom lit wouldn't he possible hcrc)
looks fully aS demoralizing-but probably the
vast difference lies in the fact that the partri-
| pants in the 'ianZa are rs unlike the dudes and
'lehtantc> of other climc> as the lotuS-nOwer
differs from the hnly hork. or the warmth of
| the tropc sun from the pale glimmcr of an
Aurora Borealis. These creatures of impulse
are 10 more to be judged hy the same rules
| which apply TO pheyhatic Anglo-SaXon> than
John Smitl, and Sarah Jones would enlist our
| sympathieS if they behaved exactly as did
| Romeo and Juliet. Therefore it is that in the
'">, society of the Mexican capital girls are
| not permitted to indulge in the lnnza except
with their hr"ther> or nearest of kin, not even
| with the lovers to whom they are hetrothe,l.
and marrie, ladies' only with their husbands
| very sensible etiquette, hy the way, but would
| he bcilered if unmarried folks We're prohibited
| from dancing il at all.
These guilcess Scnoriias. with their convent
| breeding, their ignorance of books, and all the
restrictions that necessarily environ females
| so near the equator. are not up in the ways
of the world. Not one of them could tell you
Il word about theosophy or protoplasms or
batlybioS, never having heard Of such things
i'll all their lives. They are
NATURES FAvnEITE CHILDREN.
governed by tropical instincts rather than by
| the tramcl> of education. and as coIuetti>h aS
| unsophiSticatcd. While their minds lie falIow
| rs fertile field, their hearts have been ripen-
ing like prize strawberry in Il hot house. or
like one of their giant alccs which gives its life
to the blossominy.
For an cXample-an exceedingly "fair' one
let us take the belle of last nights ball A
slim and langud young lady, aged nineteen. is
the Scnorita Antona -, one of the lovclicst
girls in this land where all women are lovely
| in youth and incomparably ugly at middle age;
but her greatest charm Is in that ntlcScrilIah'e
| manner which the French call uJtntl0n. All
her life has been passed in the towery court of
| her massive honlc and all she has seen of the
world has been the daily panorama from the
balcony. or from the closed carriage during
the sunset drive
Feeling the spirit of the d,tn.u in every
fibre. she fairly papitatcd to the music and
moved like Il winged Mercury upon her tiny.
hgh-hcelc.l slippers. 10 be sure, her rosebud
| mouth was far more suggestive to her part
ner'> olfactorics of the garlic and chilli she had
eaten for supper than of its ilora prototvpc;
but her fine teeth and ripplin@ laughter
atoncd for all that and though her soft cheek
upon his shoulder adorned his Sunday coat
with broad cpauct of rice-powdcr. he didn't
seem to mind it in the least. especially when
He was Il mi,ie-aged New Yorkcr.-onc of
the pon,erous type both in mind. body and
bank account-down here intent on business
schemes of magnitude; and being Il friend of
potrrtumHius. no longer young. was permit
ted to dance with the .i,,ly Antona rs the
safest of partners.
She, evidently, didn't like ii 50 WELL There
was a certain Young Francisco lowering about
the edges of the bali room and looking at her
with lovc-lt eyes who seemed to occupy her
thoughts-but then she couldn't ion2u with
him, You know, and it would never do to
he rude to the stranger American who was
papa's friend; so the dear girl submitted with
charmn" grace, having first teleyraphed from
under her eye-lil> protest and apology to the
adorable Francisco. Well.
THE w,<nrrrr rr.>, w.,, ~rrr:,r
"''''
(who was perhaps fortv-tyc wears ol,-a great
ace to AntoniD. wishin" TO .:,lo up brown all
the social requirements of the Mexican capital
and thereby render himself solid in business
first looked tmidly around to see how Others
were disportiny themselves. On the floor
everybody was in everybody clSe's embrace.
moving slowly to the music and Iookin" serene
and sleepy: so. hoping Mrs. Wall Street at
home Wold remember that when i'm Rome if
i;,ti' .t W w Wv a. a. 'o i.o u. aoo" .t
arm and resigned himself TO circumstances.
She. in the innocent uLo0dDu of her nature.
placed her pow,lcry cheek inst beneath his
pon,lcr0us jowI-thereby binding his ewes
with the l]uIlicst of ietty ..banus'-su,;e.lcd
her plump figure, which lad never known the
mauaclnr Of :, corset. as close 10 his waist
coat as possible, cave him her unrloye,l hand.
and away they dun:otd. as laziIy as the rest.
Being so slow, the dun.o is Il dance of con-
,iIrncc. and low murmrs. Gentle whispcrs
and Ii"ht laughter arose from every side, as each
couuIr enioy.L thr closest of tetr-o-tctcs. The
niuht was hot i'm this lotusIonJ tbr La-room
crowded. and the air heavy with ncrf,,me. The
music was not the ear-snlittin~. crash-ban"-
bum-b,,m of an American ORCHESTRA. Int silver
throated instruments. assisted hy llutc. ouitnr
and mandolin. rendered airs sweet and scnsuous
enough TO WOO The sou| ont of !. woo,jcn Indian.
Oh. This Southern music, If ulays a not unim-
nortant part in thr rnm,ncr nf \uL,usion
Iovr.m,kinr. ms any st,iI tn,ln-S,\on who